The Overbrook Foundation is a progressive family foundation that supports organizations advancing human rights and conserving the natural environment.

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Story of Stuff Is a Classroom Hit

An article in The New York Times describes the impact of Annie Leonard's video The Story of Stuff. Annie put the 20-minute video on the internet in December 2007. The drawings that convey the cycle of human consumption are easy to understand and child-friendly.

So far, six million people have viewed the film at its site and millions more have seen it on YouTube. In fact, a quick search on YouTube produced versions in English, Spanish, Portuguese.

The video has gotten a huge response from the classroom, where it is used to teach students about environmental issues in an engaging way. More than 7,000 schools, churches and others have ordered a DVD version, and Annie has received letters from hundreds of teachers who have assigned their students to view it. Facing the Future, a curriculum developer for schools in all 50 states, is currently drafting lessons plans based on The Story of Stuff.

The article in The New York Times tells the story of a teacher from Portola Valley, California, who says that the video is short and easy enough to fit into a class segment. The teacher's students made a response video and posted it on YouTube, asking Annie to give them ideas on how to improve the human consumption cycle. In turn, high school students in Mendocino, California posted an answer with suggested activities.

Congratulations Annie on spreading the word and getting the next generation to question their consumption habits! To read the original article, click here.

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The Overbrook Foundation, located in New York City, is a family foundation established in 1948 by Frank and Helen Altschul. The Foundation took its name from Overbrook Farm, the Altschul family home in Stamford, Connecticut. At the end of 2011, the Foundation has an endowment of approximately $122.6 million and had awarded approximately $6.1 million in grants over the course of that year.